Do you still replace your spool bearings to ceramic hybrids?

[ABU is overpriced]

4 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

I use all sorts of brands' and manufacturers', including cheaper Chinese ones and more expensive hedgehog ones, but once debris gets in, it doesn't matter what brand it is. My fishing river and creeks could get quite muddy with debris and weed the current brings, especially during spring times, that's why I always leave the bearing shields on, otherwise I'll have to clean them on weekly basis.

For sure, but i am just not too certain how debris get in this easily. I most often fish in real dirty rivers where you'd see tampons and condoms floating around (no joke btw😕), and unless i get the reel submerged, which i usually don't do, they never get noisy in a season.

[newapti5]

24 minutes ago, ABU is overpriced said:

For sure, but i am just not too certain how debris get in this easily. I most often fish in real dirty rivers where you'd see tampons and condoms floating around (no joke btw😕), and unless i get the reel submerged, which i usually don't do, they never get noisy in a season.

 

Different people fish differently. Maybe it's the way we hold the rods, maybe it's from the water from different fishing lines, maybe it's the lures and fishing methods we used... My buddy and I bought a Bantam at the same time, and his was way geary than mine. We finally figured out the culprit : he held his rods with a slightly higher angle. My point is, I wouldn't dwell into it too much; this isn't one size fits all. 

[redmeansdistortion]

5 hours ago, GRiver said:

I did not know this, I thought higher the number of abec the tighter the clearance internal and quality of materials…. Everything. Looks like I’m going to have to do some studying 

This is why a quality ABEC 1 bearing spins better than a Chinese ABEC 7 bearing.  A quality bearing manufacturer can machine ABEC 5, or even ABEC 7 tolerances without much effort at all.  It's essentially a marketing tool these days.  A good ABEC 1 bearing will remain stable at a RPM far beyond what a spool will see.  These are the bearings you see in high speed machine tools, aircraft instrument panels, and even dentistry tools.

[new2BC4bass]

1 hour ago, ABU is overpriced said:

For sure, but i am just not too certain how debris get in this easily. I most often fish in real dirty rivers where you'd see tampons and condoms floating around (no joke btw😕), and unless i get the reel submerged, which i usually don't do, they never get noisy in a season.

Whoa!  That's downright filthy.  I only saw plastic water bottles and foam coffee cups...as a general rule...in the river I used to fish.  Definitely neither of those items.

[ABU is overpriced]

22 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

Whoa!  That's downright filthy.  I only saw plastic water bottles and foam coffee cups...as a general rule...in the river I used to fish.  Definitely neither of those items.

Its depressing, but smallies, musky and walleye fishery is pretty good in Spring and Fall. Summer is completely dead like they all moved to another country, tho.

[FishTank]

On 2/24/2025 at 8:37 PM, F14A-B said:

Let us know how it goes. 

 

So I took my upgraded Steez SV out for a spin yesterday and I was really impressed. I had it on a P5 Daemos with 12lb Tatsu (old line same in pic) and I was throwing a 1/4oz swimjig with a 3.8 Keitech. I could cast it a mile. It was also super easy to cast, effortless. It was pretty smooth to begin with but seemed a little smoother. Downside was the noise. It was pretty load and didn't get any better with use. I did get use to it but it is definitely a trade off for the improvement. 

 

I would say was getting about 120-140' feet easy, maybe more. I was able to set turn the brakes down to 3 and cast with a little wind to my back. At best, I usually set the brakes to 6 on this reel. 

[F14A-B]

6 minutes ago, FishTank said:

 

So I took my upgraded Steez SV out for a spin yesterday and I was really impressed. I had it on a P5 Daemos with 12lb Tatsu (old line same in pic) and I was throwing a 1/4oz swimjig with a 3.8 Keitech. I could cast it a mile. It was also super easy to cast, effortless. It was pretty smooth to begin with but seemed a little smoother. Downside was the noise. It was pretty load and didn't get any better with use. I did get use to it but it is definitely a trade off for the improvement. 

 

I would say was getting about 120-140' feet easy, maybe more. I was able to set turn the brakes down to 3 and cast with a little wind to my back. At best, I usually set the brakes to 6 on this reel. 

That’s great! More distance, less braking. A 1/4 with trailer isn’t exactly a bait designed with bombcasting in mind but it’s working with your upgrades via rod choice. I’d call it a success. Those were JDM bearings correct? 

[FishTank]

1 hour ago, F14A-B said:

That’s great! More distance, less braking. A 1/4 with trailer isn’t exactly a bait designed with bombcasting in mind but it’s working with your upgrades via rod choice. I’d call it a success. Those were JDM bearings correct? 

Spool Speed. They are from the US.  Someplace south based on the conversation I had with Barbie (kid you not) about the sizes I needed. 

 

You are correct on the rod. It loads really well and does help. 

[JediAmoeba]

Hear me out - I put ceramics in a lot of my reels under the main gear and on the worm gear pawl. These are the two areas that may not get oiled as frequently and are subject to buildup and rust, so I put dry ceramics in and forget about them. Optionally( and you see this in some reels already) you can put in bushings since a ball bearing isn't needed here.

 

I have serviced a lot of reels over my years and the two areas I mention are some of the biggest areas where rusted bearings rear their ugly head.

[redmeansdistortion]

2 hours ago, JediAmoeba said:

These are the two areas that may not get oiled as frequently and are subject to buildup and rust, so I put dry ceramics in and forget about them.

I just use 90W marine gear oil in those areas.  It stays put for a long time and gives a smooth and connected feel.  I run a reel service and the reels I most often see with rusted bearings are those fished in saltwater.  Those that have spent their lives in freshwater just had a lot of gunk built up, even reels fished for decades never having been opened up.  Usually, if a bearing from a freshwater reel is rusty, it's because it is chromed steel and not stainless.  I like to think most manufacturers don't cheap out on bearings in their middle and upper tier models, as quality stainless bearings aren't costly at all.  I buy them in bulk from Minnebea Mitsumi Japan for between $1 and $2 each.  I can imagine a manufacturer buying in larger volumes gets them far cheaper.  Minnebea Mitsumi supplies bearings to both Daiwa and Shimano.

[new2BC4bass]

On 3/1/2025 at 12:09 PM, FishTank said:

 

So I took my upgraded Steez SV out for a spin yesterday and I was really impressed. I had it on a P5 Daemos with 12lb Tatsu (old line same in pic) and I was throwing a 1/4oz swimjig with a 3.8 Keitech. I could cast it a mile. It was also super easy to cast, effortless. It was pretty smooth to begin with but seemed a little smoother. Downside was the noise. It was pretty load and didn't get any better with use. I did get use to it but it is definitely a trade off for the improvement. 

 

I would say was getting about 120-140' feet easy, maybe more. I was able to set turn the brakes down to 3 and cast with a little wind to my back. At best, I usually set the brakes to 6 on this reel. 

I never got that much extra distance, but like you, I found I could usually lower the brake and get same distance with less effort.

[FishTank]

3 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

I never got that much extra distance, but like you, I found I could usually lower the brake and get same distance with less effort.

I would say on a max cast I'm maybe getting an extra 20 feet or more. Nothing mind blowing but it's definitely better. Like you said it's more about casting further with less effort.  Also, the start up on the spool is smoother. It's been pretty hard to backlash. 

 

I always believe this kind of upgrade is subject to the reel and what your throwing so results will vary widely. 

[thediscochef]

Boy is this the thread I needed to kill these minutes.

 

I've come to the conclusion that I love ceramic bearings *except* on daiwa tatula models with SV spools (and tatulas in general). I have some theories about why, but tatula SV reels by nature are noisy when you cast them hard. Throwing ceramic bearings in there has produced some very undesirable vibrations and noises, both in the 17 and 20 models. For those I've switched over to some chinesium "abec9" corrosion resistant high rpm motor bearings. $1 on the sites. Much quieter and close performance. I don't know the details and material compositions and I'm not about to try and find out lol. The full weighted spools aren't so bad about it, seems to dampen a lot of what the duralumin spools can't. But a lot of the tatula SVs scream real good with ceramic in them and that's a no go for me 

 

 The reel I have that benefits the most from the ceramic bearings is the Lews Tournament Pro. It has spool bearings on the spool itself instead of just at the shaft tips like a tatula. I feel like that lends a smoother cast which leads to more results from a faster bearing. 

 

In general I'd opt for a ceramic bearing though